ABSTRACT
Undoubtedly, the level of hazard awareness and practical interest in disaster reduction has increased. Many governments and organisations have made renewed commitments to these goals. For example, the amount of funding into hazards research – in Europe at least – has been raised and there appears to be a fresh appetite for international disaster reduction initiatives. In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, in particular, over US$13.5 billion was committed by the international community towards aid and redevelopment projects (Telford et al. 2006). Perhaps surprisingly, the vast majority of this resource has already been spent as the donors intended. On the other hand, despite these recent developments, the emerging challenges for disaster reduction remain severe. Unless these issues are satisfactorily resolved, it is likely that the future disaster toll across the globe will rise.
